BBC SPORT | Olympics 2004 | Athletics | Holmes' place in history Holmes' place in history Profile: Kelly Holmes Kelly Holmes' double gold in the 800m and 1500m has been hailed as one of the greatest achievements in Olympic history. Holmes set a new British record and ended up as the only Team GB athlete to claim individual track and field gold. But she did more than merely save her under-performing team-mates' blushes and more than simply fulfil a personal Olympic dream. In doing the 800m-1500m double, the 34-year-old from Tonbridge achieved a rare Olympic feat. Olympic middle-distance great Sebastian Coe, who was Holmes' idol growing up, described her achievement as "phenomenal". Lord Coe, who himself won 1500m Olympic gold but was unable to clinch the double, said: "A lot of people have tried it, few people have done it. In historic terms and athletic terms, what Kelly did was supreme." Another former British runner convinced of the magnitude of Holmes' accomplishment is former Olympic 10,000m bronze medallist Brendan Foster.

Holmes claims double gold The BBC pundit's emotional commentary as Holmes sank to her knees after clinching victory in the 1500m left viewers in no doubt as to how high he ranked her achievement. "Britain's first ever gold medal in the Olympic Games was in the 1500m and now (this is) our most glorious moment in athletics history as far as I can see," he said. "She is the double Olympic champion - we've never had one like you before. The last British athlete that came close to it was Sebastian Coe and he ended up as Lord Coe. Surely we going to call her Dame Kelly Holmes after that performance." To compare Holmes' gold-winning achievements over six days with Sir Steve Redgrave's five-gold rowing haul amassed over 20 years is to attempt the impossible. GB OLYMPIC GREATS Five Olympic golds at successive Games Sebastian Coe Only man to win successive gold medals in the 1500m Daley Thompson First athlete for 32 years to successfully defend the decathlon title.

Mary Rand First GB woman to win an Olympic athletics title; won gold, silver and bronze in three different events at 1964 Olympics Harold Abrahams But the statistics show the enormity of Holmes' achievement: Only two other women have achieved the 800m-1500m double in the history of the Olympic Games. Just three other athletes of any nationality have done the 800m-1500m double in modern times - New Zealand's Peter Snell in 1964, Tatyana Kazankina of the Soviet Union in 1976 and Svetlana Masterkova of Russia in 1996. A mere six other British female track and field athletes have won Olympic gold - none had won more than one. Only six other British competitors have won two or more golds at the same Olympics - and only one since 1920. Holmes is the first Briton to win both Olympic middle distance events for 84 years, when Albert Hill won both in Antwerp in 1920.

Holmes came into the Athens Olympics rated a 100-1 outsider by bookmakers to do the 800m-1500m. After her victory in the 800m, an open-top bus parade around her home town of Tonbridge was planned - now that looks likely to be scaled up into a national party. Not only did Holmes make a mockery of the odds, she now finds herself odds-on for a host of other things - from winning the BBC Sports Personality of the Year to getting a gong in the New Year's Honours list. Her life will be changed with monumental fame and lucrative financial opportunities there for the grasping. But what will surely be most precious to her is the place that her Athens performances have earned her in the pantheon of Olympic greats. British Athletics Official Website | Kelly Holmes Club(s): Tonbridge, Middlesex Ladies, Ealing, Southall and Middlesex. Coach(s): Dave Arnold and Margo Jennings. Â Itâs Jingle, Jangle Time LessÂ than a month before the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004, Kelly Holmes sat eight rows from the front of the main stand at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham.

It was a Friday afternoon, 48 hours before a domestic international, and whirring about in her head, and then onto her lips, were doubts about whether she would be able to deliver this year. If, at that present time, someone had said that she would win two Olympic gold medals, become Britainâs greatest ever woman Olympian and be made a Dame, she would probably have questioned their sanity. As she famously talked on that Friday afternoon, there was even a doubt whether she would be ready for the Olympics. Â What happened next was a story so remarkable that by the following year, when she was invited to Buckingham Palace to receive her honour from Her Majesty The Queen, it was still a bit too much for Holmes to take in. She was there because she had won the 800m and 1500m Olympic titles, and as she was made a Dame, The Queen talked to her about the jangling noise of her medals. It was the stuff of fairytales.Â Â Yes, Sergeant Holmes had been one of the toughest members of the British team, and it was no surprise.

She combined running for her country with serving her country, having joined the army at 18 where she trained to be a Sergeant, who specialised as a Physical Education Instructor. She had already established herself as an outstanding athlete after winning the English Schools Junior 1500m in 1983 and senior 1500m in 1987, but then she dropped out of the sport at the highest competitive level to concentrate on her military career. Â By 1992 she was back, winning the Southern 800m and making a great breakthrough to world class the following year when she won both national titles outdoors and her first Grand Prix race at Stockholm. She then broke two minutes for the first time at Oslo and in 1994, in Victoria, she won the first major title of her career when she triumphed in the 1500m, having finished second at the European Championships earlier that summer in Helsinki. Twelve months on, at the World Championships in Gothenburg, Holmes won silver in the 1500m and bronze in the 800m and broke British records at 800m and 1000m.

Her first Olympics in 1996 saw the bravery which was to mirror her career, because she battled through the toil of injury. A stress fracture of her left leg in Atlanta meant she had to run after having cortisone injections and as much as she remained tough, her body just could not take her onto the podium despite two stirring performances. And then came the morning which she would never forget.Â Â Athens Hell Holmes had decide to concentrate fully on her career on the track and she left the army in 1997, a decision which saw her soar to World No 1 over the 1500m. It meant that on the first morning of the World Championships in Athens, a spring was in the step for all of those from Briton who were in the Olympic Stadium. It was 9.30am and the heats of the womenâs 1500m were taking place. The reason was the anticipation that here at this competition Holmes would finally land the global title her career looked destined for. As the runners prepared to move into the final 200m of another lap,Â competingÂ at a pedestrian pace, Holmes suddenly disappeared out of view.

In an instant she was seen, balancing against an advertising hoarding after being struck with the cruellest of athletics blows at the cruellest of times. She had ruptured an Achilles Tendon , and as the heat finished, she made the long, lonely walk down the home straight, hobbling into the arms of a British official - and together they shed tears of despair.At that point, Holmes' career looked in pieces. Not so much the physical side, but the mental side. How could she ever return from this setback? It needed almost a year for her to recover, but she did so in style, winning silver at the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. It was far from her greatest honour, but it showed the guts she possessed.

Â After being knocked out in the semi-finals of the 800m at the World Championships in Seville in 1999 (she did not run the 1500m because of further injuries leading up to the event), she made a late start to the track season in 2000, but took the AAA title at 800m and made a wondrous return to top form at the Olympic Games in Sydney, when, from a seasonâs best of 2:00.35, she ran 1:58.45 in her semi-final and then 1:56.80 to take the bronze medal in the 800m final, where she made a determined bid, taking the lead on the last lap. As her great friend and rival Maria Mutola, of Mozambique, won gold, Holmesâ smile was equally wide and famously, in the mixed zone area below the stand, where athletes and media gather together, she said, 22 times in five minutes: âI cannot believe it!â.

Glandular fever meant her preparations for the 2001 World Championships suffered and she did well to finish sixth in Edmonton in the 800m, but she showed that the Championships had come a few weeks too early for her, with a splendid series of races on the Grand Prix circuit, with best times of 1:57.88 and 1:57.90 for second places in ZÃ¼rich and Brussels, culminating in second places to Mutola at both the Goodwill Games and Grand Prix Final. Â In 2002, in Manchester, she regained the Commonwealth Games 1500m title in 4:05.99 and she attempted a double at the European Championships in Munich, starting with a fine bronze at 800m in 1:59.93, but, after three rounds, having to run her heat of the 1500m on the following morning proved too much and she did not advance with her 4:08.11 for fourth place.Â Â Athens Heaven AtÂ the end of 2002, she had accepted an offer from Mutola to train with her in Johannesburg.

Holmes knew South Africa well having spent many a winter preparing there and though she had been inspired for so long by her coach from Kent, the late Dave Arnold, she now came under the guidance of American Margo Jennings, a former ballet dancer. In 2003, in her first indoor 1500m race since she ran 4:46.07 as a 15-year-old in 1986, she had a commanding win in Glasgow in 4:12.51. Then she took two seconds off the 15 year-old British indoor record for 800m with 1:59.21 in second place to Mutola in Gent before a most astute race to take the silver medal in the World Indoor 1500m, taking over four seconds off the British indoor record with 4:02.66. At the Worlds, despite claims of the pair helping each other out, Holmes, after making a late decision to switch from the 1500m, won silver in the 800m as Mutola took gold.

She was a major candidate for 1500m gold at the World Indoors in Budapest in 2004, but fell in the final. Then came the uncertainty at Birmingham; then came glorious, unbelievable success. The 800mÂ was first at the Olympics in Athens and Holmes was so composed in every round but Mutola was the defending champion and the British star had beaten her so rarely. But 24 hours after a country had been shocked by Paula Radcliffe not finishing the marathon, the mood of celebration became immense when Holmes took control of the 800m and held on to win gold in 1:56.38, holding off Mutola, who ended up fourth, and the late charge from Hasna Benhassi and Jolanda Ceplak, who both shared the time of 1:56.43. Â The photograph ofÂ Holmes' eyes almost popping out, when she realised she hadÂ triumphed after not being so sure when she crossed the line, won almost as many awards as her.

She was the first British woman to win an Olympic track gold medal since Sally Gunnell in the 400m hurdles in Barcelona in 1992, but five days later, sheÂ wrote an even greater piece of history. Not since 1920, when Albert Hill triumphed at the Olympic Games in Antwerp, had a Briton won both the 800m and 1500m double on this stage, but how Holmes bridged that gap. Showing supreme confidence, she won the 1500m in magisterial fashion in 3:57.90, taking 0.17 off her seven-year-old British record. It was her first injury free season for years - and what a year. What followed was incredible. She had a bus tour around her home village in Kent, where it was estimated that 80,000 people came out to see her, she was the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, she won the IAAF womenâs performance of the year and the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year award.

Â Awarded MBE in 1998, she was advanced to DBE in the 2005 New Year Honours but asÂ a re-occurring problem with her right Achilles tendon flared up in 2005, she knew then it was the right time to retire. She did so at the end of the season, but her popularity remains, from appearing in reality television shows on ice, to visiting the sick, to training a group of some of the best middle-distance youngsters in the country at her exclusive camps. As someone said, mention the name Kelly to anyone in Britain and they will know who you mean.

Â 1994: 1st 1500m Commonwealth Games, 2nd 1500m Europeans, 3rd 1500m World Cup 1995: 2nd 1500m, 3rd 800m Worlds 1996: 4th 800m, 11th 1500m Olympics 1997: ht 1500m Worlds 1998: 2nd 1500m Commonwealth Games 1999: sf Worlds 2000: 3rd 800m, 7th 1500m Olympics 2001: 6th 800m Worlds 2002: 1st 1500m Commonwealth Games, 3rd 800m, ht 1500m Europeans 2003: 2nd 1500m World Indoors; 2nd 800m Worlds 2004: 9th 1500m World Indoors, 1st

 800m & 1500m Olympics European Cup: 1994- 2nd 1500m, 1995- 1st 1500m, 1996- 2nd 800m, 1997- 1st 1500m, 2002- 4th 800m Â Â National Championships Won AAA 800m 1993, 1995-6, 1999-2001, 2004; 1500m 1994, 1996, 2002; AAA indoor 800m 2001, 2004; UK 800m 1993, 1997 Â Personal bests 200m 24.8 (1996), 400m 53.8 (1996), 600m 1:25.41 (2003, UK best), 80

0m 1:56.21 (1995, UK record), 1000m 2:32.55 (1997, UK record), 1500m 3:57.90 (2004, UK record), 1M 4:28.04 (1998), 3000m 9:01.91 (2003), road 10km 34:54 (1997) Indoors: 800m 1:59.21 (2003), 1000m 2:32.96 (2004), 1500m 4:02.66 (2003).

Â Kelly Holmes Wins 800m Gold (First Of The Double) - Athens 2004 Olympics - YouTube Kelly Holmes Wins 800m Gold (First Of The Double) - Athens 2004 Olympics Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Oct 30, 2012 Check out the brandnew Olympic Channel: Kelly Holmes struggled with injuries but arrived in Athens in perfect shape. In the 800m final, Holmes moved past defending champion Maria Mutola and held off her other rivals. The finish was so close that Holmes didn't know she'd won -- she did so by five hundredths of a second. Subscribe to the Olympic channel: Five nights later, in the final of the 1500m, Holmes burst into the lead around the final turn and earned her second gold.

The 1500m victory made her the first British athlete to win a double Olympic gold in the 800m and 1500m since Albert Hill in 1920. ( ) At 34, she was the oldest woman to win either the 800m or the 1500m, let alone both of them. Kelly Holmes continues to represent Great Britain's sporting legacy abroad and campaigns for children's sport. Find more about Kelly Holmes: Category Athens 2004 Summer Olympics - results & video highlights Official Reports arrow Biggest Games A record 201 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in the Olympic Games. The overall tally for events on the programme was 301 (one more than at the Sydney Games in 2000). Most popular Popularity in the Games also soared, as 3.9 billion people had access to the television coverage compared to 3.6 billion for Sydney. This global audience enjoyed coverage of never-before seen sports such as women's wrestling, which was included in the programme for the first time. Records tumble Swimmer Michael Phelps won six gold medals and set a single-Games record with eight total medals.

Leontien Ziljaard-van Moorsel became the first female cyclist to earn four career gold medals, reaching a total of six Olympic medals, while canoeist Birgit Fischer became the first athlete in any sport to win two medals in each of five Olympic Games. Memorable champions Runner Hicham El Guerrouj won both the 1500m and the 5000m, while on the women's side Kelly Holmes triumphed in both the 800m and the 1500m. In team play, Argentina won the men's football tournament without conceding a goal, and the US softball team outscored their opponents by an aggregate score of 51-1. NOCs: 201 Athletes: 10,625 athletes (4,329 women, 6,296 men) Events: 301 Media: 21,500 Two new National Olympic Committees Kiribati and Timor Leste entered teams for the first time, although athletes from Timor had competed at the Sydney Olympics as individual Olympic athletes.

Iraqi Football Despite continuing warfare back home, the football team from Iraq qualified for the Olympic tournament and made it to the semifinals. United Arab Emirates Double trap shooter Ahmed Almaktoum won the first gold medal for the United Arab Emirates. Thai woman champion Weightlifter Pawina Thongsuk became the first woman from Thailand to earn a gold medal when she won the 75kg category. Greek judoka In the men's 81kg category, Ilias Iliadis won Greece's first-ever gold medal in judo. Tennis breakthroughs Chile and China earned their first medals in tennis as Nicolas Massu and Fernando González (on picture) won the men's doubles championship and Massu also won singles, while Ting Li and Tian Tian Sun took the women's doubles title. Fencing firsts In fencing, women's sabre made its debut with Mariel Zagunis of the United States earning the gold medal. It was the first U.S. victory in fencing. Switzerland also claimed its first fencing gold when Marcel Fischer won the men's individual épée. Greeks in synch Thomas Bimis and Nikolaos Siranidis captured Greece's first medal in diving with an unexpected victory in synchronized springboard.

Greece first and last 201 National Olympic Committees marched in the Parade of Nations at the Opening Ceremony. Traditionally Greece leads the parade and the host team goes last. Because Greece was the host, they occupied both positions, as weightlifter Pyrros Dimas opened the parade and the rest of the Greek athletes entered at the end. East African sweep Kenyans runners swept the medals in the 3,000m steeplechase with Ezekiel Kemboi taking the gold, Brimin Kipruto the silver and Paul K. Koech the bronze. Marathon history The marathon races followed the same route as the 1896 race, beginning in Marathon and ending in Athens' Panathenaic Stadium. Vanderlei de Lima of Brazil (on picture) was in the lead of the men's race with less than 7 kilometres to go when a disturbed man pushed him off the course. De Lima held on to earn the bronze medal and was awarded the Pierre de Coubertin Medal in recognition of his Olympic spirit. Olympia The shot put events were held in Olympia, the site of the ancient Olympic Games.

Original stadium The archery competitions were staged in the same Panathenaic Stadium that was used for the 1896 Olympics. Women's wrestling debuts Women's wrestling made its debut with competition in four weight categories. Japanese women earned medals in every division, while France and the United States won two medals each. The first gold medal went to Ukraine's Irini Merlini, who dominated her first 4 opponents in the 48kg category and then won the final on a tiebreaker. Ceremonies Athens, 13 August, Opening Ceremony of the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad. The last runner of the Olympic Torch relay Nikolaos KAKLAMANAKIS runs past the athletes in the Olympic Stadium. ©IOC/Tsuyoshi Kishimoto Official opening of the Games by: President of the Hellenic Republic Konstantinos Stephanopoulos Lighting the Olympic Flame by: Nikolaos Kaklamanakis (sailing) Official Oath by: Lazaros Voreadis (basketball) The 2004 Olympic Games emblem is a wreath made from an olive tree branch, or kotinos.

The emblem is a reference to the ancient Olympic Games, where the kotinos was the official award of Olympic champions. In addition, the olive was the sacred tree of Athens. The colours of the emblem symbolise the shades of white and blue found in the Greek countryside The main feature of the medals is the Greek character shown on both sides, since their basic side has been changed for the first time since the Amsterdam Olympic Games in 1928. This is of particular importance, as from now on all Olympic medals will reflect the Greek character of the Games as regards both their origin and their revival. On the medals awarded to Olympic athletes from 1928 until the Sydney Games, goddess Nike was seated, holding an ear of corn in one hand and a wreath in the other. Here, she flies into the stadium bringing victory to the best athlete. The Organising Committee has chosen to show the Panathenic stadium, where the Games were first renewed in 1896. On the obverse, the athlete’s discipline is also engraved.

The reverse side of the medal is composed of three elements: The eternal flame that was lit in Olympia and travelled through the five continents by way of the 2004 Torch Relay; the opening lines of Pindar's Eighth Olympic Ode composed in 460 BC to honour the victory of Alkimedon of Aegina in wrestling and the ATHENS 2004 Olympic Games emblem. The design of the Medal was created by Elena Votsi. More info Phevos and Athena Phevos and Athena. The names of the two mascots are a reference to two gods of Olympus: “Phoebos” is another name for Apollo, the god of light and music; “Athena” is the goddess of wisdom and protector of the city of Athens. The two mascots thus symbolise the link between Ancient Greece and the Olympic Games of the modern era.

Number of torchbearers : around 7 700 in Greece and around 3 600 for the international relay Total distance : around 6 600 km in Greece and over 78 000 km for the international relay Countries crossed : Greece, Australia, Japan, Republic of Korea, people's Republic of China, India, Egypt, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, United States, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, France, UK, Spain, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Russian Federation, Ukraine, Turkey, Bulgaria, Cyprus More info The “Official report of the XXVIII Olympiad: Athens 2004” was published by ATHOC in English and Greek. Based on the same model as for Sydney 2000, this official report consisted of a box set of two printed volumes (Homecoming of the Games - organisation and operations; The Games) and a multimedia set, which offered two bilingual CD-ROMs containing the results, and a DVD of the film “Behind the scenes of the Athens 2004 Opening and Closing Ceremonies”.

Kelly HOLMES - Olympic Athletics | Great Britain Kelly HOLMES Middle-distance runner who recovered from injury to claim double Olympic gold at the age of 34. Fighting spirit Although she showed early promise as a runner, Kelly Holmes gave up the sport to join the army at the age of 18 and become British army judo champion. She returned to competitive athletics after watching the 1992 Barcelona Games on television. Injury problems Holmes' career was plagued by injuries. Barely recovered from a stress fracture, she placed only fourth in the 800m at the 1996 Atlanta Games. In 2000, a ruptured calf left her only six weeks to train for the Sydney Games. Still, she managed to win a bronze medal in the 800m and placed seventh in the 1,500m. The perfect year She arrived at the 2004 Athens Games in perfect shape. In the 800m final, Holmes moved past defending champion Maria Mutola and held off her other rivals. The finish was so close that Holmes didn’t know she’d won – she did so by five hundredths of a second.

Five nights later, in the final of the 1,500m, Holmes burst into the lead around the final turn and earned her second gold. An athletics hero At 34, she was the oldest woman to win either the 800m or the 1,500m, let alone both of them. Kelly Holmes continues to represent Great Britain’s sporting legacy abroad and campaigns for children’s sport.

Buckingham Covers | London Wins Olympic Bid London Wins Olympic Bid Code - BC228London Host City, unsigned £25.00 Code - BC228S4Signed by Chairman of the British Olympic Association, Silver medallist and ex-Minister of Sport £35.00 Code - BC228S5Signed by Gold medalist & 1st President of UK Athletics, David Hemery MBE £35.00 Code - BC228S7Signed by Sir Christopher Chataway, Olympic Athlete & pacemaker in Bannister's sub 4-minute mile £40.00 Code - BC228S2Signed by Britain's double Gold medalist, Dame Kelly Holmes £50.00 Code - BC228SETSet of Four Host City FDCs each with different 1948 stamp & postmark £75.00 BC228S Code - BC228SSigned by Sir Steven Redgrave, the only rower to earn gold medals in five consecutive Olympics £40.00 A triumph really worth celebrating.

To mark London's successful bid to host the Olympic Games in 2012, Royal Mail fast tracked this special miniature sheet. It was a very late-noti... Issue Date: 05/08/2005 Issue Name: stamp issue name Producer: Buckingham Covers A triumph really worth celebrating. To mark London's successful bid to host the Olympic Games in 2012, Royal Mail fast tracked this special miniature sheet. It was a very late-notice addition to the stamp calender! Favourite Design of 2005 Our lovely cover was voted one of our collectors' favourite designs of 2005. Each one holds a GENUINE 1948 Olympics stamp. Every city to have hosted the modern Olympics is listed, by year, in gold blocking.

Signed Editions We were thrilled that no less than 4 British Olympians signed this cover, to raise money for their favourite charities: Dame Kelly Holmes Winner of both 800m AND 1500m at the 2004 Olympics Sir Steven Redgrave BBC ON THIS DAY | 28 | 2004: Second gold for Kelly Holmes About This Site | Text Only 2004: Second gold for Kelly Holmes British athlete Kelly Holmes has secured a place in Olympic history by winning the 1500m gold in Athens. The runner won the 800m on Monday and is the first Briton in 84 years to achieve the Olympic middle-distance double. Holmes set a new British record for the race with a time of 3 minutes 57.90 seconds, finishing three metres ahead of Russian rival Tatyana Tomashova. Third place in the 1500m was taken by Romania's Maria Cioncin. Holmes said after the race: "I can't believe it - I'm gobsmacked.

"After the 800m I had a lot of confidence and I was feeling good going through the rounds, but these girls are really good and I had to focus more than ever in that race." Tonight was her night and she was just amazing Pam Thomson, Holmes' mother The athlete - who was 100-1 to do the double before the 2004 Olympics began - continued with her tactic of hanging back in the field until the closing stages of the race. At the start of the final lap she was eighth out of 12, but moved to third place with 150m to go. In the final straight Holmes even had time to look over her shoulder to check where her nearest rivals were. She smiled and raised her arms in triumph as she crossed the line. The Olympic double at 800m and 1500m eluded Steve Ovett, Sebastian Coe and Steve Cram. The only other British athlete to achieve the feat is Albert Hill, in Antwerp in 1920. Holmes' mother, Pam Thomson, told reporters she was overjoyed at her daughter's second gold. "Words are simply not enough at a time like this," she said.

"Kelly has had a lot of downs in her career and has always thought that something will go wrong when she's at the top. "But tonight was her night and she was just amazing." British Athletics Official Website | Hall of Fame Athletes Hall of Fame Athletes Â About the Hall of Fame This section of the website contains a number of informative articles, relating to some of the past great athletes of our sport.

With so many great names to choose from it has been difficult to decide who should actually feature in this area, but after a long discussion we have decided to feature those retired athletes that have at some point in their careers, set a world record, or won a gold medal at the World Championships or Olympics.Â Â Â Steve Backley Javelin (World Record 1992) Roger Black 4 x 400m Relay (Gold Medal 1991 Worlds) Darren Campbell 4 x 100m Relay (Gold Medal, 2004 Olympics) Linford Christie 100m (Gold Medal 1992 Olympics, 1993 Worlds) Jonathan Edwards Triple Jump (Gold Medal 2000 Olympics, 1995, 2001 Worlds) Peter Elliott 1500m (World Indoor Record 1990) Sally Gunnell 400m Hurdles (Gold Medal 1992 Olympics, 1993 Worlds, World Record 1993) Kelly Holmes 800m & 1500m (Gold Medal, 2004 Olympics) Colin Jackson 

110m Hurdles (Gold Medal 1993 & 1999 Worlds, World Record 1999) Denise Lewis Heptahlon (Gold Medal 2000 Olympics) Liz McColgan 10,000m (Gold Medal, 1991 Worlds) Derek Redmond 4 x 400m Relay (Gold Medal 1991 Worlds) John Regis 4 x 400m Relay (Gold Medal 1991 Worlds) Â 2004 Olympics: Athens hosts again | Young Journalist Academy 2004 Olympics: Athens hosts again Medal table winner: United States of America Held between August 13th and 29th, the 2004 games saw the modern Olympics return to its birthplace of Athens.

In memory of the inaugural tournament in 1896, the original Panathenaic stadium was used for archery and ancient Olympia was deployed for the shot-put competition. Rather fittingly and appropriately, the motto of the games proved: ‘Welcome Home’. The United States raced to the top of the medal table for the third consecutive Olympiad, while China usurped Russia for second. Impressively, Australia retained their fourth place finish and improved upon their Sydney tally. Hosts Greece came a solid fifteenth, their best performance since 1896, and Team GB once again sneaked into the top ten. Aside from the use of Ancient and past facilities, Athens also produced some fantastic modern replacements such as the stunning OAKA plaza. In addition, the torch relay became a global journey for the first time with the flame winding through six continents. Kiribati and Timor Leste made their Olympic debuts in Greece with 10,625 athletes, overall, taking part. Marathon drama The marathon is, as ever, full of drama and excitement at the Olympic games. This was no different in Athens.

With the route being identical to that of 1896, UK hopes were pinned on women’s world record holder Paula Radcliffe (pictured right). However, despite being heavy favourite, the scorching temperatures and sapping cramp took its toll on the then 28-year-old. Eventually dropping out, Radcliffe was left heart broken as her Olympic dream withered in the Athenian streets. There was similar drama in the men’s race with an Irish priest (stay with me here) having his say on the outcome of the race. Brazilian athlete Vanderlei de Lima was tackled by Cornelius Horan and dragged into the crowd while leading. Eventually managing to wriggle free, De Lima salvaged bronze, but had seen his gold chances slashed. In light of these baffling and cruel circumstances, he was awarded the Pierre de Coubetin medal for sportsmanship. Horan, on the other hand, was left to deal with a hearty £2,500 fine. Considering he could have faced a five-year prison sentence however, the Leprechaun impersonator can count hiself lucky.

El Guerrouj seals his legacy Moroccan distance runner Hicham El Guerrouj is simply an athletics legend and could boast such a status even before 2004. After all, he had set the 1500m world record in 1998 and the greatest ever mile time one year later. Both records still stand. However, despite being the overwhelming favourite in Sydney, El Guerrouj choked and could only muster a 1500m silver. Consequently, many considered his chance to have slipped away by the time Athens arrived. Having finished eighth in his last race before the games and suffered from illness, the odds were against the Moroccan. Yet in one of the most incredible 1500m races in Olympic history, he finally fulfilled his destiny. Astonishingly, each 100m split of his last 800m was always faster than the last. It was this mercurial and constant acceleration that saw El Guerrouj overcome Kenyan legend Bernard Lagat and bag the gold. Two consecutive Olympics of choking were behind him at last and the then 29-year-old was hungry for more.

Just three days later, he embarked on the double and an event more than thrice the distance of the previous, the 5000m. Everything fell into place though as El Guerrouj became the first Olympian since Paavo Nurmi in 1924 to complete the double. He may have been forced to wait for his golden moment, but few legends have deserved it more. Emotional double for Holmes Team GB’s Kelly Holmes had, in many ways, a similar story to El Guerrouj. While her career didn’t boast any world records, she too had crumbled under the pressure in Atlanta and Sydney. Consequently, 2004 was her last chance too and many thought Holmes was past her best. Throw a series of crippling injuries and depression into the equation; everything seemed against Britain’s golden girl. Athens proved the games of the underdog however. In her first race, the 800m, Holmes lurked in the middle of the pack for the first 550m. Making her move along the top bend though, it became apparent she was in with a chance of victory.

With all of Britain willing her on, the then 34-year-old edged past Hasna Benhassi with just two metres to go. Coupled with Steve Cram’s legendary commentary: ‘You’ve won it Kelly!!’ there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Consequently, the pressure to win her first gold medal had finally been alleviated and the chance of the double presented itself in the 1500m. With an inspirational burst of pace in the last 50m, Holmes breezed to a comparatively comfortable win. Rarely has a British athlete captured the heart of the nation in such a manner. It simply proved the just reward for such a trying athletics career. Fischer makes history Kayaking cannot claim to be the most popular Olympic sport, but Germany’s Birgit Fischer went a long way to change that. In one of the most incredible Olympic careers, the 1962-born star won eight gold medals over six separate summer games. Garnering her first medal at the Moscow games in 1980, Fischer wanted to wrap up her Olympic career in style in Athens.

Despite being aged 42 at the time, Fischer proved an integral part of the successful K-4 500 metre winning side. With a time of 1:34.340, the Germans defeated Hungary and Ukraine to sneak the gold. Their veteran member also bagged herself silver in the K-2 500 metre race, narrowly missing out to Hungary alongside Carolin Leonhardt. Still, eight golds can’t be bad, huh? Other sports Sir Bradley Wiggins made his Olympic debut in Greece and did so in emphatic fashion. The future Tour de France winner announced himself on the world stage with gold in the individual pursuit, silver in the team pursuit and a bronze in the Madison. Arguably the shock of the games came in the Basketball as the USA suffered their first Olympic defeat in 12 years. Despite boasting a team including LeBron James, the US suffered a shock 89-81 loss to Argentina in the semi finals. The NBA side was forced to settle for bronze. In what proved a largely successful tournament for Team GB, Britain ended in style with a surprise victory in the men’s 4x100m relay.

Despite facing Maurice Greene and Justin Gatlin’s US outfit, Mark Lewis-Francis bagged the gold by just 0.01 seconds with a blistering anchor leg. A catastrophic second change-over from America proved the costly error and the UK took full advantage. Another Olympic star burst onto the scene in Athens in the form of Michael Phelps. The most decorated Olympian of all time scooped an incredible six gold medals and two bronze. Believe it or not, it bagged even more in Beijing.

Question: Which British athlete won gold medals in both the 800m and the 1500m at the 2004 Olympics?
Answer: Kelly Holmes